What is a lifestyle of a honeyeater bird?

Answer 1

Honeyeaters
Family Meliphagidae

The honeyeaters make up Australia's biggest family of birds, and thus there are many species found in the Australian tropical rainforest.

They are, as the name suggests, nectar feeders, and thus vital pollinators for many Australian plants. They are in many ways the ecological equivalent of the African/Asian Sunbirds and the American Hummingbirds. However, most honeyeaters are much bigger than the overseas nectar feeders, and most are not delicate enough to hover. Despite the name, honeyeaters do not exclusively feed on nectar, for while it is high in energy giving carbohydrates (ie; sugar), it is low in nutrients (Simpson et al 1996). Thus, no honeyeater can survive without including a few insects in their diet (Simpson et al1996). Some ingest them while naturally feeding from flowers, but many 'honeyeaters' are actually more 'insectivorous' than nectivorous.

Many of the physical features of honeyeaters are reflections of their nectar feeding lifestyle. Most have a bill that is curved to some extent, with Slater et al(1998) suggesting the bill shape largely reflects the types of flowers they are visiting. Another adaptation is the long tongue; it is split into 4 tiny hair like extensions at the end (Lindsey 1998) to give it the appearance of a brush, and this assists in 'mopping up' the liquid nectar by capillary action (Simpson et al 1996). Some honeyeaters can move this tongue at more than 10 licks per second (Simpson et al 1996).

Beyond this, generalizations of lifestyle and behavior are hard to make with such a large and diverse family. Like many hummingbirds, honeyeaters can be territorial, often chasing others away from their nectar or insect source. Breeding seasons are extremely varied, reflecting the different times of nectar production in different plants (Egerton 1997). A mated pair will usually construct a cup shaped nest suspended in the horizontal fork of a tree (Slater et al2000). This may then be lined with softer material such as fur feathers and plants (Egerton 1997). As with some other types of Australian birds, it is not unusual for assistant parenting from non-breeding

BRIDLED HONEYEATER: Lichenostomus frenatus 20 cm

• The Bridled Honeyeater is endemic to the Wet Tropics region .

• The name relates to the brown and yellow 'bridle' that stretches from the beak to under the bright blue eyes. It also has a blue eye area.

• Their call can be described as 5 clear downward notes.

• It occurs mainly in upland rainforests, at all altitudes above 450m, but mostly above 600m.

• In winter it extends to lower altitudes and more open habitats.

• Besides living in rainforests, it likes swamp woodlands and drier forests adjacent to rainforests.

• They are usually seen alone, but sometimes in pairs or small groups.

• Its closest relative is the Eungella Honeyeater near Mackay, which was thought to be the same species until it was distinguished as separate in 1977.

• This bird can be quite aggressive, especially during the breeding season from August to March when they can be seen attacking each other. They sometimes can be seen grappling with each other and tumbling down to the forest floor.

• They feed on nectar (especially from the mistletoes, Climbing Pandans and Umbrella Tree), beetles and other insects, generally from the mid strata of the rainforest.
• Near Chambers Wildlife Rainforest Lodge it is observed most readily in the Lake Eacham picnic area.

Eastern Spinebill:Acanthorhycnhus tenuirostris

• This is a beautiful little bird, coloured rufous brown underneath, greyish on top, with a black head, contrasting white bib, and a sharply downward curving bill.

• It's call is a series of piping whistles.

• Being a honeyeater, it feed regularly on nectar, and can often be seen hovering at flowers with a distinctive whirring sound of the wings like a sunbird or an American hummingbird.

• It inhabits the wetter environments along the east coast of Australia.

LEWIN'S HONEYEATER: Meliphaga lewinii 20 cm

• Lewin's Honeyeater is the extremely similar counterpart of the Yellow-spotted and Graceful Honeyeaters that replace it in foothill and coastal districts.

• Its loud staccato call is one of the familiar sounds of upland rainforests.

• It feeds mainly on insects, nectar and fruit.
• Many have learnt to visit picnic tables to look for crumbs.
• Several are daily visitors to the lodge railings at Chambers Wildlife Rainforest Lodge .

Additional Information: Courtesy of Damon Ramsey

• This medium sized honeyeater is one of the most common and diagnostic birds of the Australian east coast rainforests.

• In the tropics it is usually found at higher altitudes.

• It's call is one of the most familiar and distinctive sounds of the rainforest, a fast 'machine gun' like series of whistles.

• If you get a good, close look, you may notice that it tends to be slightly chubbier than the other Meliphagas, the yellow patch tends to be fuller and more of a half moon, and there are small scale like marks on the breast.

MACLEAY'S HONEYEATER: Xanthotis macleayana 20 cm

• Macleay's Honeyeater is endemic to the Wet Tropics region.

• It is common in rainforests at all altitudes. It can be seen about the rainforest and its edges, and at times, in orchards and gardens.

• It is harder to see than most other honeyeaters as it is unobtrusive, and it remains higher than many of the other honeyeaters in the rainforest.

• Its main call is a musical 'to wit, too wee twit' song.

• It searches amongst epiphytic growths and vines as well as gleaning from leaves.

• Its diet consists of roughly 70 percent insects and Spiders, 20 percent nectar, and 10 percent fruit.

• Because of its feeding habits, it plays an important role in the pollination of rainforest flowers.

• The breeding season is from September to March.

• Easily viewed at Chambers Wildlife Rainforest Lodge.

Additional Information: Courtesy of Damon Ramsey

• The Macleay's Honeyeater, is a medium sized honeyeater with a distinctive 'tartan' pattern, black cap and orange patch around the eye.

• It has also a distinctive, fast and cheery 'tosweet-swe-twseet' call that is heard around the lodge.

SCARLET HONEYEATER
Myzomela sanguinolenta 11 cm

• Despite its brilliant colour, the male Scarlet Honeyeater is often difficult to observe because it is small and forages mainly in tall trees.

• Usually the Scarlet Honeyeater occurs in flocks following the seasonal flowerings of plants.

• These birds are observed most readily in gardens where native plants such as grevilleas and bottle-brushes predominate.

• It is often detected first by its sweet jingling call.

• Can easily be seen in Spring on the flowering Jacaranda tree at Chambers Wildlife Rainforest Lodge .

Additional Information: Courtesy of Damon Ramsey

• The male of this species has a bright red head and chest and black wings, whilst the female is a dull brown.

• They are often found near blossoms of equally bright red Banksia.

• They are found in rainforest, woodlands and even urban areas along the east coast of Australia, perhaps more commonly seen in the tropical part of their range.

• They are also found in tropical Asia and islands of the tropical Pacific.

YELLOW HONEYEATER: Lichenostomus flavus 19 cm

• The Yellow Honeyeater is endemic to north Queensland.

• It is common in open forests and woodlands with a shrubby understorey.

• Its rich whistling calls are uttered frequently throughout the day.

• Because it feeds commonly on nectar, it is often abundant even in cities where native plants such as grevilleas an bottle-brushes have been used for landscaping.
• Near Chambers Wildlife Rainforest Lodge it is most readily seen around Mareeba.